Project Managing a PH D And surviving the process Paul Hyland

Introductions Who are you? What is your project experience? What types of projects are you involved in right now? Have you had any project management training? What are your pain points? What would you like to get out of this workshop?

Learning objectives Understand how a Ph D can be managed as a project Take away a basic project plan Develop some skills in planning and scheduling Understand that you need to manage risk Understand the importance of communication.

What is a project? “A Project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a” - PMI (Project Management of Knowledge (Every project has a definite beginning and a definite end.) Even a Ph D

Understanding the project

Do you understand your Ph D project What are the key outputs? What do you have to do to complete your PH D? What is your completion date? Who is critical to your success?

Benefits of PM Deliver projects successfully Achieve project objectives Goal clarity and measurement Coordinated resources Risk identification and management Cost savings Efficiency of repeatable processes

Why projects succeed ◦ Vision, objectives and scope of project well defined and approved ◦ Strong support ◦ Risk management ◦ Project plan is realistic, achievable and approved ◦ Change management process in place ◦ Stakeholder communication ◦ Competent project manager ◦ Project management methodology

Top 10 reasons why projects fail ◦ Vision and goals not well defined ◦ Student and supervisors not engaged during project ◦ Lack of accountability ◦ Insufficient skills or poorly aligned skills ◦ Failure to manage risk ◦ Uncertain dependencies ◦ Resource competition (particularly with a busy supervisor) ◦ Scope changes ◦ Communication deficit ◦ Unrealistic deadlines

Components of a project Scope Budget Schedule Resources Deliverables Issues and Risk Communication

Components explained Scope: Clearly define what’s in scope and what is out of scope -- CRITICAL TO PROJECT SUCCESS Budget: Costs and funding Deliverables: Work accomplished, acceptance criteria and approval Schedule: Tasks, duration, dependencies, resources, and critical path Resources: Availability, utilization, task assignment and status Communication: Status meetings, status reporting, stakeholder management Issues and risk: Track, manage, escalate, contingency planning

Let’s start a personalised plan What deliverables are required in the next 36 months? What tasks need to be completed? What resources do I need? Do I have a budget and where will I allocate it? How much time will each task take?

PM Process

Communicating with your peers and supervisor

Communication and Risk Who are the key stakeholders? How will I communicate with them? When we I communicate with them? Do I understand the risks and uncertainties in the project? When should I seek help? Who can help me if I have a problem?

Executing your project Use the project plan to manage the project Conduct regular status meetings Create & distribute regular status reports Track planned vs actual and update project plan Keep the project plan current Track and escalate issues and risks Quality assurance Track Lessons Learned